Alpha's Rejected Mate Returns as Queen

Selma Payne’s POV:

How was this possible? Where did the painting go?

But no matter how carefully I searched, the wall was still empty.

Why?

“What happened, dear? Calm down.” Aldrich hugged me from behind, trying to calm my trembling, but the empty wall made me weak in the knees. Where had the day gone?

Was I in an illusion? Or was it all just a dream?

But what about the omen of that painting? Was it real? Or was it just a fantasy?

I had to confirm this with Aldrich, Dorothy, Emma, Mara, Avril, and everyone else, whether it was true or not-

However, when I turned around, the scene that greeted my eyes made me freeze in fear.

“What happened? Selma? Did you have a nightmare? Don’t worry, you can tell me.”

Aldrich was still trying to comfort me, but this only had the opposite effect.

My husband’s handsome face, which I was so familiar with, had disappeared. At this moment, his facial features were blank, like a flesh-colored egg, making one’s hair stand on end.

“No, no, no. No…”

I was sure I was either hallucinating or dreaming. Was this person really my husband?

What was this place? The palace?

I pushed Aldrich away and strode out of the suite, trying to find someone to confirm my guess. However, the corridor was eerily quiet under the broad daylight. I ran through the entire floor but didn’t see a single person. My parents, Dorothy, Kara, Bertha, and the servants were all gone. It was as if I was the only one left in the world.

I tried to go downstairs, but the stairs seemed endless. I couldn’t remember if I ran dozens or hundreds of floors. Even when my body, forged by a god, felt sore, I still couldn’t wait for that familiar gorgeous door frame.

This was not right.

I could only try to back up but smoothly returned to the starting floor.

There was still no one on this floor. The hot water kettle in the pantry was still steaming, and a pair of scissors was in the flower pot under the French window. It was as if someone was working and talking softly a second ago.

This was not the real world.

I thought.

A premonition drove me back to my ‘room’, where there was a way to leave, I was sure of it.

The room was so quiet that even Aldrich was gone.

I skimmed the empty wall and went straight back to the bedroom. On the bedside table, the cup of hot cocoa was still steaming. I picked up the cup, sniffed it, and took a sip. Sure enough, there was no smell.

I liked the taste of berries, so whenever I couldn’t sleep at night or felt tired, Aldrich always gave me black berry tea.

“Who are you?” I looked around and asked loudly, “Stop hiding. I know you’re here. You can’t fool me.”

The surroundings were quiet, and no one answered.

Suddenly, there was a sound in the living room. I ran out and realized that the living room had unknowingly changed.

An exquisite painting was hanging on the empty wall.

It was the Heartless Death.

I stared at the painting. None of the characters in the painting looked out of the painting, but everything seemed so ironic to me.

No matter who it was, this person was mocking my weakness.

“Don’t be angry, little girl. It was just a prank.”

A teasing male voice suddenly sounded in my ear. I turned around abruptly, but there was no one behind me.

“Where are you looking at? I’m here.”

In the painting, the demon that was supposed to be hiding in the bushes suddenly turned its head. Its strange yellow pupils were like ice cones, making my hair stand on end.

I felt disbelief, fear, anger, and understanding.

“It’s you, Azazel.”

The demon in the painting gradually lost his skinny and ferocious appearance in people’s fantasies and turned into a handsome young man. However, that beautiful face didn’t give me a good feeling. It was this face that broke my heart in that snowy mountain that seemed never to welcome the dawn.

The moment I recognized Azazel, I understood. The reason this place felt unfamiliar to me was that everything was fake. It was just a fake space that Azazel had constructed, just like when he was in the snowy mountains.

At the same time, I realized this fact, the illusion began to collapse. Azazel laughed out loud, panting as if he had seen a great prank play out.

“You have figured it out! Haha, alright, I know this won’t stop you for too long. But it doesn’t matter, your keen senses satisfy me even more, my dear girl.”

The painting was also disintegrating. The slippery paint corroded the canvas and the wall like sulfuric acid, outlining a hideous hole in Moon Goddess and the man’s face.

The devil was melting along with the painting, but he still stared at me with malice.

“You’re very smart, child, just like your mother.”

“What did you say?” I growled. “Stay away from my mother!”

The demon laughed again. “But it doesn’t matter, my dear, the mystery is about to be revealed. After a few thousand years, the story will now see to its only ending – my dear daughter..”